Alumni Parents and Friends

Where do candidates go wrong? How can a great personal statement make a great first impression? How can you adjust your tone and responses to questions to land that job? Ask Dandan Zhu '09, CEO & Founder, DG Recruit and Dandan Global all of your burning questions to nail the interview process.Speaker: Dandan Zhu '09As a headhunter, Dandan has worked with executives, hiring managers, HR leaders, to identify, secure, and place the best talent nationally from junior to C-level. With the insights gathered from countless negotiations and representations of many candidates who made it through to offer and acceptance (and many many others who didn't), she is happy to share candidly the advice, knowledge, and observations she has seen from candidate strategies that work. Now, she runs her own recruitment firm recruiting recruiters, DG Recruit, and also coaches top professionals in her coaching business Dandan Global. Connect with her on LinkedIn and check out her websites and podcasts for more insight into the recruitment world. Find out more >>

Join Janina Tantoco '10 as she moderates a timely discussion on COVID-19's impact on the media and entertainment industry, for better or for worse. Alumni and industry professionals will share their insights on the challenges and opportunities that have surfaced from the pandemic, which vary from sector to sector. There are increased demands on streaming services, a decrease in advertising spending, and the jobs of today might not be the jobs of tomorrow. The pathway forward is a fog bank of optimism and concern.Moderator Janina Tantoco '10Janina is a Manager of Digital Media Strategy at Netflix, focusing on title and awards paid marketing strategies in the US and Canada. Prior to joining Netflix in August 2018, Janina had worked for Nanigans, an AdTech company based in downtown Boston. Over the course of Janina's 7-year tenure at Nanigans, she worked in many different roles, including managing campaigns for large eCommerce companies, managing a team of campaign managers, shaping the product roadmap, and eventually running the Sales Engineering team before heading out west and moving client-side. Janina holds a Business Management degree from Babson College with a concentration in Strategic Management. During all 4-years at Babson, Janina participated heavily in the Babson Dance Ensemble, having been elected Executive Board President in 2009. Janina stays involved at Babson by working with the Admissions team in welcoming newly admitted students and sharing her Babson experiences to guide their decision. Outside of Netflix, Janina is enjoying and learning in her new role as a puppy-parent for her Sheltie pup Mr. Ollivander. Janina currently resides in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.PanelistsMichael McDermott P'22 Michael McDermott is the Executive Producer of Gung-Ho Films. Michael's career in China spans 3 decades: from student, to diplomat, to one of the first Western film/TV producers in China. Seeing the potential for facilitating international co-productions in China, in 2001 McDermott established Gung-Ho Films in Beijing. Since then he and his talented team have built the business into one of the leading film and TV production service companies in China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.McDermott's Gung-Ho Films has been involved in many highly acclaimed projects, including the Academy Award winning films 'Her', directed by Spike Jonze, and 'An Inconvenient Truth' starring former US Vice-President Al Gore. In addition, McDermott is honored to have worked with multiple Oscar winning director Alejandro Gonzales Iñarritu, legendary Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, and Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone.Gung-Ho Films has also helped produce China segments of a long list of award winning American TV shows including: 'Louis CK', 'The Amazing Race', and 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'.In the TV commercial space, Gung--Ho has worked on over 100 large-scale productions in China for companies like: Nike, Adidas, BMW, P&G, McDonalds, Apple, Citibank, General Motors, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, etc. In addition, McDermott's Gung-Ho Films has produced projects for well-known photographers: Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, and Steven Klein.McDermott earned his bachelor's degree at UCLA. He attended a masters degree program at Tamkang University in Taiwan, and studied at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy.McDermott also hails from a Hollywood family. His father was a pioneer in the TV Industry, running one of the first independent TV production companies in the US. His mother was a Broadway, radio, and TV actress. McDermott is a member of the Producers Guild of America. Glen Friedman '81 Recognized as a Cable Pioneer, Friedman has participated in the evolution of the entertainment industry. His vast experience in technology and its transformative power in delivering entertainment spans decades. He has held senior level marketing and operating roles at ATC, Manhattan Cable and Century Cable in Los Angeles.Friedman has been Actively engaged in every major change that has occurred in media over the past 25 years, including the introduction of cable television, satellite television, satellite radio, digital media delivery and transition to mobile, in addition to other innovative technological advances. Principal of Ideas & Solutions! for 20+ years, Friedman thinks outside the box as a consultant. From start-ups to conglomerates - including long-running, multiyear engagements with companies like DIRECTV, Fox, Saban Capital Group, PBS - his insights into marketing and business strategies are crucial to his clients' success. He is an accomplished negotiator with record of tough but amicable style resulting in win-win deals and solid relationships. He is widely recognized as an innovative thinker with creative ideas at both the strategic and tactical level, grounded in an understanding of operational realities.Earlier in his career, Friedman served as General Manager of Century Cable where he directed technical operations, customer service, IT, marketing, employee/labor relations and government affairs. As the Vice President of Marketing for Manhattan Cable (now Time Warner Cable) he led all marketing, promotions, sales, advertising and programming acquisition, accelerating the growth of one of the largest, most complex cable operations in the country and was also the National Retention Manager.Friedman has been an evaluator for J.D. Power for more than two years where he consistently finds ways to help companies not only achieve their certification, but continually enhance and improve their processes.Friedman has a B.S., Management and Organizational Behavior from Babson College where he was Student Government President. He completed the Executive Management Program, University of Denver. He's active with many non-profit organizations including First Star, FosterMore , Operation Mend and SWIPE our Hunger and was awarded Inspiration award for outstanding commitment to youth and families in Los Angeles. Steven Bushong MBA'89 P'16 Steven Bushong is senior vice president, Marketing Operations, ABC Entertainment. In this role he leads the Marketing Operations and Production teams to create an environment where people, process and technology enable the Marketing team to create and deliver industry-leading multi-platform campaigns. As a senior member of Marketing Leadership, he contributes to strategic reflection and direction setting with diverse internal and external stakeholder groups.Prior to this role, Bushong was vice president, Sourcing and Procurement, where he led the Media Networks and Supply Chain & Operations Strategy teams. He led the creation of the discipline outside of North America, supporting all Business units of The Walt Disney Company. He began his career with Disney in 1991 with Disneyland Resort Paris and worked in a wide variety of international roles until he relocated with his family to the U.S. in 2005. In addition to his work at ABC, Bushong has just launched Bushong Media LLC, a coaching and consulting practice helping people and organizations maximize their full potential.Bushong holds a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The University of Michigan-Dearborn and a MBA from Babson College. He is a trained leadership and executive coach, currently in professional certification. Outside of ABC, he is a Board Member for Special Olympics of Southern California and The Alliance Francaise of Los Angeles, as well as an advisor and mentor to industry groups and young executives. Find out more >>

Join us for virtual trivia!Gather your housemates and put your general knowledge skills to the test in this classic game of pub trivia. We will play six rounds of questions with a special Babson round to test your Beaver Bowl knowledge. Play solo, or assemble a team of up to six members of your household or Babson network. Gift Card Prizes for first ($100), second ($50), and third ($20) place players/teams will be awarded.Business vector created by freepik - www.freepik.com Find out more >>

Saving is one of the most important steps you can take to build your financial foundation. You'll need to save for the unexpected as well as for short-term and long-term goals- everything from vacation to retirementJoin us to learn more from Jennifer Bethel, Professor of Finance at Babson College and Co-Director of the Babson Financial Literacy Project ('BFLP'), as well as Robin Kahn, Executive in Residence at Babson College and a member of the BFLP leadership team.Hear about how saving now - even a small amount - can dramatically improve your financial future!Jennifer Bethel is a Professor of Finance at Babson College in Wellesley, MA and Co-Director of the BFLP. She has worked at and consulted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as numerous private companies. She received her MA in Economics and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.Robin Kahn is an Executive in Residence at Babson and a member of the BFLP leadership team. She was formerly Executive Director of FitMoney, a K-12 financial literacy nonprofit, and Vice President of Strategic Programs at Fidelity Investments. She received her MBA from Columbia Business School. Find out more >>

The WIN Growth Lab is a 12-week virtual action tank designed for early-stage female founders with high growth potential businesses in all sectors. The core program uses Babson's ET&A method of learning, testing, and iterating toward growth opportunities. The program offers a split-screen focus on developing the entrepreneur and enterprise through milestone-driven content, peer forums, and platforming opportunities. WINners learn in the lab, test in their companies, then iterate with faculty, peers, coaches, and mastermind experts.Interested in learning more? Register below and join us for a virtual informational session on Friday, July 10th at 11am. We will go over the program structure, content sessions and admissions criteria; there will be plenty of time for Q&A so you can ask all your questions! -The WIN Growth Lab team Find out more >>